Rugby Canada Announces 2013-1014 Centralized Athletes

September 4, 2013, LANGFORD, BC – Rugby Canada is proud to announce the centralization of Canada’s Men’s and Women’s Sevens programs for their respective 2013-14 IRB Sevens World Series’ thanks to the support received from Sport Canada’s Athlete Assistance Program (AAP) and Own the Podium.

Based out of Langford’s Canadian Rugby Centre of Excellence and Canadian Sport Centre Pacific, Canada’s full-time training environment includes: technical and tactical support through world-class coaching, nutritional support including breakfast and lunch most training days, medical and strength and conditioning support, video analysis and sport psychology. The centralized athletes are allocated Sport Canada AAP cards, whereby each carded player receives financial support to enable them to commit to the daily training environment necessary for them to be competitive on the world stage. Carded players will also receive tuition support to attend post-secondary education throughout the year or after their rugby careers have finished.

2012-2013 has been a successful year for Canada’s National Women’s Sevens program. Head coach, John Tait’s side competed in all four events on the IRB Women’s Sevens World Series as well as three invitational tournaments. Highlights include finishing second in Amsterdam, the final leg of the IRB WSWS circuit, an undefeated performance at the Hong Kong Sevens and a stellar result at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow, where they reached the podium in second place.

Canada’s National Men’s Sevens Team, coached by Geraint John, competed in all nine events on the IRB Sevens World Series, finishing 12th and re-qualifying as a core team for next year’s circuit. 2012-2013 Season highlights include winning the Plate and Bowl championships in Las Vegas and New Zealand respectively and Plate runner-up finishes in Hong Kong and Dubai. Canada also finished the recent Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow with a 5-1 record to capture the Plate Championship.

Rugby Canada’s AAP Carded Athletes:

National Senior Women’s Program

Elissa Alarie, (Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Rugby Club) Trois-Rivieres, QC

Emily Belchos, (Markham Irish RFC) Barrie, ON

Nikki Case, (York Yeoman) Toronto, ON

Hannah Darling, (Peterborough Pagans RFC) Warsaw, ON

Jessica Dovanne, (Velox RFC) Victoria, BC

Arielle Dubissette-Borrice, (Toronto Scottish RFC) Toronto, ON

Bianca Farella, (Town of Mount Royal RFC) Montreal, QC

Paige Farries, (Druid RFC) Red Deer, AB

Megan Gibbs, (Markham Irish RFC) Barrie, ON

Julia Greenshields, (Sarnia Saints) Sarnia, ON

Magali Harvey, (Club de Rugby Quebec) Quebec City, QC

Sara Kaljuvee, (Toronto Scottish RFC) Pickering, ON

Jennifer Kish, (Edmonton Rockers RFC) Edmonton, AB (Captain)

Ghislaine Landry, (Toronto Scottish RFC) Toronto, ON

Mandy Marchak, (Capilano RFC) Winnipeg, MB

Kayla Moleschi, (Williams Lake Rustlers) Williams Lake, BC

Jess Neilson, (Carson Graham Secondary School) North Vancouver, BC

Karen Paquin, (Club de Rugby Quebec) Quebec City, QC

Nadia Popov, (Aurora Barbarians) Newmarket, ON

Frederique Rajotte, (Markam Irish RFC) Markham, ON

Kelly Russell, (Toronto Nomads) Bolton, ON

Ashley Steacy, (Lethbridge Rugby Club) Lethbridge, AB

Brittany Waters, (Meraloma Athletic Club) Vancouver, BC

Charity Williams, (Markam Irish RFC) Toronto, ON

National Senior Men’s Program

Connor Braid, (Doncaster Knights/BC Bears) Victoria, BC

Nanyak Dala, (Castaway Wanderers RFC/Prairie Wolf Pack) Saskatoon, SK

Justin Douglas, (Abbotsford RFC) Abbotsford, BC

Sean Duke, (Uvic Vikes/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC

Mike Fuailefau, (Castaway Wanderers/BC Bears) Victoria, BC

Lucas Hammond, (Castaway Wanderers/Ontario Blues) Toronto, ON

Ciaran Hearn, (Castaway Wanderers/Atlantic Rock) Conception Bay, NL

Nathan Hirayama, (UVIC Vikes/BC Bears) Richmond, BC

Harry Jones, (Capilano RFC/BC Bears) West Vancouver, BC

Pat Kay, (Cowichan RFC/BC Bears) Duncan, BC

Adam Kleeberger, (University of Victoria/BC Bears) White Rock, BC

Phil Mack, (Uvic Vikes/BC Bears) Victoria, BC

John Moonlight, (James Bay AA/Ontario Blues) Pickering, ON

Mike Scholz, (Castaway Wanderers/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON

Jack Smith, (Peterborough RFC) Peterborough, ON

Conor Trainor, (Western University) Vancouver, BC

Jake Webster, (Lindsay RFC/Ontario Blues) Lindsay, ON

Sean White, (James Bay AA/BC Bears) Victoria, BC

The International Rugby Board and our Olympic governing body have embraced rugby sevens. This increase in support places us well for future success as we prepare our men’s and women’s teams for the 2013/2014 IRB Sevens World Series, the 2015 Pan America Games in Toronto and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

With the continued support of Sport Canada, Own the Podium and the Athlete Assistance Program, Rugby Canada can support our men’s and women’s athletes to train at an elite level and achieve world-class results in Sevens Rugby.

Canada’s Senior Men’s and Women’s Teams are proudly sponsored by Macquarie Financial and supported by Own the Podium, Sport Canada and the IRB.

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